LAUSANNE, Switz., Nov. 21-24, 2024 – Two International Fencing Federation World Cups took place in Tunis and Vancouver, each including women’s and men’s individual and team events.
Tunis, Tunisia Women’s and Men’s Foil World Cup – Nov. 21-24
Italy’s Martina Favaretto and USA’s Alexander Massialas won the individual gold medals at the Tunis Women’s and Men’s Foil World Cup and Japan and Italy won the team gold medals. The event took place at the Sports Hall of Radès with 178 women’s and 236 men’s individual fencers and 19 women’s and 26 men’s teams participating in the competition.
Favaretto faced teammate and two-time world champion Arianna Errigo in the final bout of women’s individual foil, winning with a 15-5 score. In the semifinal round, Errigo won against Poland’s Julia Walczyk-Klimaszyk, 15-10, while Favaretto defeated Canada’s Eleanor Harvey, 15-8.
Massialas faced teammate Bryce Louie in the final bout of men’s individual foil, winning with a 15-11 score. In the semifinal round, Louie won against Egypt’s Mohamed Hamza, 15-13, while Massialas defeated Czechia’s Alexander Choupenitch, 15-12. Of note, in the round of 16, Choupenitch beat Italy’s world champion Alessio Foconi, 15-12, and in the round of 32, Italy’s Giulio Lombardi won against Hong Kong, China’s two-time Olympic champion Ka Long Cheung, 15-7.
Japan faced Ukraine in the final match of women’s team foil, winning with a 24-22 score. In the semifinal round, Ukraine won against France, 41-39, while Japan defeated Korea, 45-27. The bronze medal went to Korea over France, 37-36.
Italy faced USA in the final match of men’s team foil, winning with a 45-43 score. In the semifinal round, USA won against Japan, 45-26, while Italy defeated France, 45-27. The bronze medal went to France over Japan, 45-39.
Final rankings in women’s individual foil included Martina Favaretto (ITA, gold), Arianna Errigo (ITA, silver), Eleanor Harvey (CAN, bronze), Julia Walczyk-Klimaszyk (POL, bronze), Yuka Ueno (JPN), Anita Blaze (FRA), Maria Marino (ESP) and Kata Kondricz (HUN).
Final rankings in men’s individual foil included Alexander Massialas (USA, gold), Bryce Louie (USA, silver), Alexander Choupenitch (CZE, bronze), Mohamed Hamza (EGY, bronze), Carlos Llavador (ESP), Kirill Borodachev (AIN), Tommaso Martini (ITA) and Jaimie Cook (GBR).
Final rankings in women’s team foil included Japan (gold), Ukraine (silver), Korea (bronze), France, Italy, Poland, Canada and Romania.
Final rankings in men’s team foil included Italy (gold), USA (silver), France (bronze), Japan, Poland, Korea, Egypt and China.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Women’s and Men’s Epee World Cup – Nov. 21-24
Korea’s world champion Sera Song and Israel’s Yuval Shalom Freilich won the individual gold medals at the Vancouver Women’s and Men’s Epee World Cup and Korea and Hungary won the team gold medals. The event took place at the Richmond Olympic Oval with 169 women’s and 216 men’s individual fencers and 16 women’s and 24 men’s teams participating in the competition.
Song faced Estonia’s Katrina Lehis in the final bout of women’s individual epee, winning with a 15-13 score. In the semifinal round, Lehis won against teammate Nelli Differt, 15-6, while Song defeated Hong Kong, China’s Kaylin Sin Yan Hsieh, 15-8. Of note, in the round of 32, Differt beat teammate and world champion Julia Beljajeva, 15-12.
Freilich faced Spain’s Eugeni Gavalda in the final bout of men’s individual epee, winning with a 15-10 score. In the semifinal round, Gavalda won against Hong Kong, China’s Wai Hang Ho, 15-13, while Freilich defeated Canada’s Dylan French, 15-8. Of note, in the round of 32, Italy’s Valerio Cuomo beat Japan’s Olympic Champion, Koki Kano, 15-14; Japan’s Seiya Asami won against Venezuela’s Olympic champion Ruben Limardo Gascon, 15-3; and USA’s Justin Yoo defeated Hungary’s world champion Mate Tamas Koch, 15-13.
Korea faced Ukraine in the final match of women’s team epee, winning with a 45-34 score. In the semifinal round, Ukraine won against France, 38-30, while Korea defeated Poland, 44-38. The bronze medal went to France over Poland, 45-24.
Hungary faced Japan in the final match of men’s team epee, winning with a 45-31 score. In the semifinal round, Japan won against Kazakhstan, 45-28, while Hungary defeated France, 39-35. The bronze medal went to Kazakhstan over France, 36-35.
Final rankings in women’s individual epee included Sera Song (KOR, gold), Katrina Lehis (EST, silver), Kaylin Sin Yan Hsieh (HKG, bronze), Nelli Differt (EST, bronze), Giulia Rizzi (ITA), Jade Sersot (FRA), Emily Conrad (UKR) and Lauren Rembi (FRA).
Final rankings in men’s individual epee included Yuval Shalom Freilich (ISR, gold), Eugeni Gavalda (ESP, silver), Dylan French (CAN, bronze), Wai Hang Ho (HKG, bronze), Seiya Asami (JPN), Justin Yoo (USA), Valerio Cuomo (ITA) and Lukas Bellmann (GER).
Final rankings in women’s team epee included Korea (gold), Ukraine (silver), France (bronze), Poland, Estonia, Germany, Hungary and Italy.
Final rankings in men’s team epee included Hungary (gold), Japan (silver), Kazakhstan (bronze), France, Italy, Czechia, Ukraine and Spain.
Complete and official results for these events may be found here on the FIE web site. For more exciting world fencing news and features, check out the YouTube FIE Fencing Channel.